


Always Our Captain

by LePapillonRose



Series: Tales of Kaijou High [3]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Gen, Kaijou cuties, Kaijou third years are now college freshmen, Kasamatsu and Kobori go to the same college as per Replace, Kasamatsu centric, Platonic Relationships, pre Strky, semi Kasameta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 04:25:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17196479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LePapillonRose/pseuds/LePapillonRose
Summary: Kasamatsu gets an annoying(ly thoughtful) surprise.Alternatively: his team is full of sentimental idiots.





	Always Our Captain

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I had this idea for a fic on a whim a couple of months ago and I finally sat down and wrote it. It turned out longer than I expected, though that's probably just because I ended up getting very invested!
> 
> This is something I really wanted to happen in canon, just because Kasamatsu deserves a lot of love after what he's been through :) Please enjoy!

The first thing Kasamatsu notices after rolling over to turn off his 8 AM alarm is that he has a  _lot_ of texts. He squints at his phone, expecting most if not all of them to be from Kise, but his half-asleep brain is confused even further when he realizes they’re from several different people.

It’s odd, considering he rarely gets texts at all, and he takes his phone with him to the bathroom to make sure it isn’t serious (because even if he isn’t their captain anymore, his old team is full of idiots and he can’t  _not_ be concerned). Kasamatsu starts to brush his teeth, swiping down the screen with his free hand.

The most recent messages are from Hayakawa and Nakamura, just minutes apart from what Kasamatsu assumes to be morning practice at Kaijou. Their contents are similar, but they could not be expressed more differently.

_**[7:16 AM] Nakamura:**  morning, senpai. practice is going well. good luck today!_

_**[7:24 AM] Hayakawa:**  MORNING!!!KASAMATSU!!!SENPAI!!!GOOD!!!LUCK!!!_

Kasamatsu furrows his brow, wondering how the new captain and vice captain found out when they are supposed to be busy preparing for the Interhigh. He gets his answer a few messages later.

_**[6:23 AM] Kobori:**  Sorry Kasamatsu, Moriyama wheedled it out of me last night. But hey, it’s not so bad, right? See you in calc. Please eat breakfast._

_**[6:55 AM] Moriyama:**  hey dont kill me but i told the kids_

_**[6:56 AM] Moriyama:**  also i know im talking to the brick wall known as kasamatsu yukio but dont stress!! youll be fine yu-chan ♡_

The childhood nickname stares up at him innocently and Kasamatsu scowls at it. He should have known it was Moriyama, but at the same time, he can’t stay mad at him when the damage is done. Resigned to his fate, he scrolls to the last few messages, all of which have way too much energy for how early they were sent.

 _ **[5:49 AM] Kise:**  GOOD MORNING SENPAI!!!!!_ °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

 _ **[5:50 AM] Kise:**  my shoot got moved this early…_ ｡ﾟ･ (>﹏<) ･ﾟ｡ _i did sleep enough tho!_

 _ **[5:50 AM] Kise:**  we’ll all be cheering for u tonite!!_ ☆⌒(≧▽° )

The logical part of his brain asks how, but he figures he owes everyone a response at the very least for their trouble. He types one out in the Kaijou group chat before setting his phone down and continuing to get ready for his day.

 

* * *

 

Over in the Kaijou locker room, three different phones ping at the same time. Some of the team members still left look around in confusion, but Nakamura and Kise exchange a knowing glance, while Hayakawa pokes his head out from behind the shower curtain, hair dripping water everywhere.

“Is it Captain!?”

“I’m guessing he’s awake,” Nakamura affirms, tossing Hayakawa a towel before raising an eyebrow at him. “Also… aren’t  _you_ the captain?”

Hayakawa catches the towel, startled realization on his face. “Ah! You’re right!”

“That’s kind of important to remember, Hayakawa-senpai,” Kise snickers, pulling out his phone to read the text in question. “It’s Kasamatsu-senpai alright! He says thanks, but it’s not a big deal and to focus on our classes, with an exclamation point.”

“What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him,” Nakamura says solemnly, buttoning up his school uniform. “Moriyama-senpai said he has everything ready. We just need to bring the paper.”

“I asked the art club if I could have some!” Hayakawa chimes in as he walks out of the shower stall. “They said they’ll leave some for us in the president’s room!”

“I can run and get it after practice, since my sprints have been really good recently.” Kise beams, slinging his school bag over his shoulder. “And Kobori-senpai said he’ll pick us up with Moriyama-senpai!”

“Sounds good,” Nakamura replies with a nod. “I think we’re ready.”

“We’ll meet in front of the gym at four!” Hayakawa declares, with the captainly authority he has inherited from Kasamatsu. “And if anything goes wrong, we blame Kise!”

“Good plan!”

“ _Mean_ , Nakamura-senpai, Hayakawa-senpai!”

 

* * *

 

Kasamatsu tugs at the worn laces of his sneakers, making a knot before tying off the ends in a snug bow. The motions are familiar and usually calming, but today his mind drifts far away on restless waves, carrying him to a murky unknown he isn’t sure he wants to face.

“Kasamatsu.”

He lifts his head, finding his captain, Harada, in the doorway of the locker room. Harada offers him a small smile, mysterious as always; he’s a great leader, but sometimes Kasamatsu just can’t tell what he’s thinking. “Ten minutes. Just wanted to let you know.”

Kasamatsu gives his laces one final tug before getting to his feet. “Sorry for the wait, Captain. I’ll head over right now.”

Harada chuckles, as if amused by Kasamatsu’s obedience. “Don’t worry about it. And loosen up a little, yeah?” He leans over and gives Kasamatsu a pat on the back. “It’s just our first run. For now, just go out there and do what feels right. You’re a great player: have faith in yourself.”

 _Easier said than done,_ Kasamatsu muses as he gives Harada a nod and ventures into the dim tunnel. He’d had faith in himself before, many times before, and a vast majority of them had ended in crushing defeat. The successive losses to Seirin and Shuutoku at the Winter Cup still sting, and though Kasamatsu had rallied his team with encouragement and pride, he couldn’t help but wonder: what more could  _he_ have done? Shouldn’t a captain serve as a better example for his team?

Even though Moriyama, Kobori, and even Kise have assured him otherwise, Kasamatsu can’t help but feel that he has failed them.

He doesn’t know why he’s come back to basketball. His longtime friends have dropped it for other pursuits (astronomy for Kobori and girls for Moriyama, though only the former is having any success), and though Kasamatsu had been scouted as a nationally-ranked player, he had promised himself he would resign. His new teammates are great and talented, their camaraderie not unlike Kaijou’s, but he’s tired of failing. He’s tired of letting people who trust him down, and he’s tired of the guilt piling on his shoulders until he can barely hold up his head.

So he’d meticulously reasoned it all out in his mind—schedule changes, an unexpected class workload, a mere loss of interest. Yet the weeks came and went and he still found himself at the gym every single day, practicing with his teammates or by himself for hours at a time. He’s still addicted to the smell of linoleum and leather and the feel of the ball in his hands, chasing lofty dreams like a fool who has made the same mistake too many times.

And now, at his first college game, it’s far too late to turn back.

Kasamatsu exhales deeply as he steps out of the tunnel, the glaring court lights temporarily blinding him. As he adjusts to the sudden brightness, he hears a loud, much too familiar cacophony of voices, and he stops.

Kasamatsu wonders if the phosphenes are playing tricks on him. He blinks them away several times and he sees the same thing. His old team is there in the bleachers, wearing their Kaijou jerseys over their clothes and holding a large poster with his old #4 jersey and his name in bold black characters over the railing.

Moriyama and Kobori are standing on either side of the poster like proud parents. Kasamatsu commands both their gazes, raising his eyebrows in silent questioning, but they only grin from ear to ear as if pleased by his reaction. Nakamura smiles from his perch at the top of the poster, quietly adjusting his glasses as always, while Hayakawa and Kise frame either side of him, beaming and waving when Kasamatsu looks confusedly in their direction.

Of course, Kise is the first to speak properly, and loudly. He cups his hands around his mouth, shouting without a care in the world:

“ _Do your best, senpai!_ ”

Cheers resonate from the rest of the team, as well. Many heads turn in recognition of Kise’s voice, prompting a chorus of squeals—but Kasamatsu is so stunned that he doesn’t register the commotion or get an urge to scold Kise for causing it. The ace’s text from the morning flashes in his mind—but he can’t wrap his mind around  _why_. After all that has happened, after all the disappointment he has wrought them—why are they  _here?_

“Well, they’re certainly a lively bunch.”

Kasamatsu turns his head fast, not expecting company. Harada steps next to him, humming as he regards the old Kaijou team like he’s unraveled some complex mystery. Hayakawa decides to  _wave_ , and Kasamatsu has half a mind to stomp up to their seats and give him a lecture on etiquette—but Harada returns the gesture with gusto.

“Friends of yours?”

“Uh… yeah, sorry about them, Captain,” Kasamatsu mutters, compelled to apologize even though they aren’t his team anymore. “They’re just… young and—”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Harada cuts in, cocking an eyebrow. “In fact, it seems like you’ve got yourself quite the support group here.”

Kasamatsu  _really_ doesn’t understand his captain sometimes. He fixes his features into what he hopes is a politely inquisitive expression. “Support group?”

“You’ve got it,” Harada responds with a smile. “Look, I may not know them or what happened, but it’s clear as day: those boys have faith in you. Bad game or good, win or lose: they’re here to cheer for  _you._ You owe it to them—and to  _yourself_ —to draw from their support and give it the best effort you can.”

Kasamatsu’s eyes widen. Harada gives him a final clap on the shoulder before walking towards their school’s end of the court, and finally, Kasamatsu thinks he’s caught a glimpse of clarity. He looks up to the bleachers—where Moriyama isn’t hitting on a girl for once, where Kobori and Nakamura are diligently holding up the poster, where Hayakawa and Kise are competing for who can cheer the loudest—and warmth fills his chest.

This time, he won’t let them down.

 

* * *

 

And he doesn’t.

It’s a thriller of an opening game. Both teams are evenly matched, their supporters are equally emphatic, and it all comes down to the wire with not a tenth of a second wasted—but when Kasamatsu nails the game-winning three from the corner, the crowd erupts into such a deafening roar that he’s sure he whites out. His team sweeps him into their arms, giving him praise and headpats and fistbumps, and he tries to take in everything as he slowly regains his senses.

In the midst of it all, Kasamatsu looks to the rafters. The Kaijou boys are all there, awe and pride in their expressions, and he guesses the elation must show on his own face because suddenly Kise begins to blabber and point and Moriyama looks like he’s brushing something from his eye.

He feels freer than he has in months.

Kasamatsu gets tackled by a distinct yellow blur when he comes out of the locker room, and just this once he lets it slide, patting the offender’s back for a few seconds before delivering his warning.

“Oi, Kise, get off.”

“Really, senpai? That’s how you greet me after two months?” Kise whines, but he does listen, relinquishing his hold on his senior. Seconds later, however, his eyes light up again. “You were seriously amazing!”

“Seriously, Captain!” Hayakawa exclaims, clenching his fists. “It made me want to play with you again and get all the rebounds!”

Kasamatsu chuckles at the familiarity of the statement. “That’s great, Hayakawa, and thanks, but I didn’t make you captain so you could forget your job.”

“I keep having to remind him…” Nakamura lets out a sigh, shaking his head with almost a fond annoyance. “You did great though, senpai.”

“They’re right, Kasamatsu—you were inspiring out there,” Kobori says with a smile, reaching out to pat Kasamatsu’s shoulder. “I can’t count how many times I saw you with the ball and wanted to be out there with you again.”

“Seriously, and I thought I was done with basketball!” Moriyama slings an arm around Kasamatsu’s shoulders, sniffing dramatically. “Watching you tonight, it was like I got my old Yu-chan back. I missed him a lot, you know.”

Kasamatsu snorts, folding his arms. “Glad I can always count on you to be corny as hell, Yoshi.”

“My love for you isn’t  _corny_ —actually, speaking of corn,” Moriyama interrupts himself abruptly, raising his index finger. “We’re here for a reason. We’re taking you out for dinner… because we also kind of haven’t eaten yet.”

Kasamatsu fights the urge to rub his temples. “…It’s 9 PM and you’re telling me that none of you idiots ate before the game.”

“To be fair, we  _were_ on a time crunch,” Kobori points out.

“Kobori-senpai and Moriyama-senpai picked us up from Kaijou, in fact,” Nakamura adds.

“Yeah, we came straight from practice!” Hayakawa points to Kise. “And  _he_ moved his shoot to make time for the game and dinner!”

Kise jumps at that, laughing nervously. “A-ah, Hayakawa-senpai, you weren’t supposed to say that…”

It’s already too late. Kasamatsu feels a vein pulsing in his forehead, though it’s more out of concern than anger. “Kise, why the hell—”

“W-well, is it so bad that I wanted to be able to spend time with everyone, senpai?” Kise huffs, folding his arms. “It’s not often that all of our schedules line up like this! And today is special!”

Moriyama sighs in disappointment. “Oh, give him a break, Kasamatsu. We all wanted to be here for you, as much as I know your thick head refuses to accept it.” He nudges Kasamatsu’s shoulder with a smile. “Now c’mon, let’s all get some food, alright?”

Moriyama is right; it  _is_ hard for him to accept. Yet as Kasamatsu looks from person to person—from Kobori and Moriyama, who’d come despite their early morning classes; to Hayakawa and Nakamura, who were still in their school uniforms; to Kise, who’d had a change of clothes only because he’d moved his shoot—the evidence is right in front of him. The warmth in his chest returns, stronger this time, and he swallows thickly before speaking again.

“Fine,” Kasamatsu sighs, ruffling Kise’s new shorter hair. Kise instantly perks up, like a trained puppy. “You’re all off the hook, just for today.”

Hayakawa and Kise cheer, while Nakamura, Kobori, and Moriyama all give him proud smiles. Kasamatsu chuckles and ushers everyone into a circle, just as he would a few months ago. “And… I guess I owe you a big thanks. For all of this.”

“Anything for our captain,” Kise says sincerely, leaning into him. The others nod in agreement, and Kasamatsu rolls his eyes, the warmth burning brighter and brighter.

“Alright, quit the sap,” he chides, but he can’t stop the silly grin that spreads across his face at the sentiment.

And when things start to become more of a group hug than a team huddle, no one—especially not Kasamatsu—complains.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave me a kudos or a comment, and I'll see you in my next fic!


End file.
